582 HANDY-BOOK OF HUSBANDRY. 



STEAMING FOOD. 



I have now (1870) steamed all of the hay and most of the grain 

 that has been fed out at Ogden Farm, and I do not hesitate to 

 recommend the practice to all who are so circumstanced that they 

 can do the work systematically. 



For want of space I will simply detail our modus operandi^ and 

 others will be able, readily, to make such modifications as may be 

 necessary to meet the requirements of their own cases. 



We have about fifty head of stock, and I find that — averaging 

 them all, old and young — it costs not more than fifteen cents per 

 day to feed them, including the cost of grain, labor, fuel, wear 

 and tear of machinery, etc. Kept in good condition, as they are, 

 this is low enough. 



By referring to the plans of the Ogden Farm barn, the reader 

 will be able to understand the following description of the arrange- 

 ment of the machinery and fixtures. The engine (six-horse 

 power) and the boiler (ten-horse) stand in a lean-to shed on the 

 north side of the barn, (back of the ox-stalls.) The " counter- 

 shaft," by which the power is communicated, is at the west end 

 of the feed-room, about seven feet from the floor. One end of 

 this shaft runs out through the north side of the building and is 

 connected with the driving-wheel of the engine by a belt. The 

 cutting-machine stands on the hay floor, with its knife-end toward 

 the feed-room and about four feet distant from it. Power is 

 carried to it by a belt from a pulley on the counter-shaft. The 

 steaming-chamber occupies what was formerly a pair of ox- stalls 

 on the cattle floor. It reaches to the ceiling, and is entered by a 

 hatchway through the floor of the feed-room. It also has a side- 

 door opening on the gangway, through which the feed-car passes. 

 The steam is supplied, under a loosely-laid false bottom, by a pipe 

 leading from the boiler. 



We run the engine three or four hours one day in the v/eek — 

 cutting about three tons of long fodder, which usually consists of 

 hay, straw, and corn-stalks in about equal parts. One half of this 

 is put into the chamber on the day of cutting, and the other half is 



